Shoppers hunt for bargains at the TangerOutlets Hilton Head on its grand opening day. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News) -John Carrington

Tanger estimates 2 million visits per year to Bluffton outlets.

Edna McQuire drove 50 miles to Bluffton on Thursday.

The 55-year-old Varnville woman was on the hunt for a good deal.

She found them at the new Tanger 1 Outlet Center.

“This is a great place to shop,” McQuire said. “It’s like a hidden treasure.”

She bought three Tommy Hilfiger purses for $58 and a Tommy Hilfiger outfit for her granddaughter for $20.

“I can’t wait to get in Lane Bryant,” she said.

Tanger isn’t too hidden though.

The parking lots were full and traffic on U.S. 278 remained steady throughout the day, despite the damp weather, marking the culmination of a 15-month, $43-million redevelopment project that showcases an eco-friendly, outdoor-air mall.

Steven B. Tanger, president and chief executive officer of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc., said the outlets have a big draw, enticing new customers from 30 to 50 miles away.

By noon, traffic was backed up on U.S. 278 and parking spaces were primo. The ribbon-cutting ceremony under a tent at 11 a.m. drew an overflow crowd, with hundreds of people standing outside listening to the program.

Tanger spoke at the ceremony, as did the chairman of the Beaufort County Council, Weston Newton, and Gov. Nikki Haley. A color guard presented the flags and a band from Hilton Head Christian Academy played music.

“At a time when the economy tends to go up and down the people that are most successful are the risk takers,” Haley said. “When I look at the shopping bags, all I see is jobs, jobs, jobs.”

In addition to the shopping mall a mile away, Tanger has two shopping centers in Myrtle Beach and one in Charleston.

In Georgia, Tanger has malls in Locust Grove, 30 miles southeast of Atlanta, and Commerce, which is 60 miles northeast of Atlanta.

The publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Greensboro, N.C., operates and owns, or has ownership interest in 33 upscale outlet shopping centers in 22 states nationwide.

The centers total more than 10.1 million square feet, leased to more than 2,100 stores operated by more than 350 different brand-name companies.

The new center is 91 percent leased, Tanger said, and he hopes it will be 100 percent leased by Labor Day. The 177,000-square-foot center had 32 stores open Thursday and another 12 stores that were completing interior build-outs and should open soon.

Among the stores are a Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, Levi’s Outlet, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store and Kenneth Cole. A Panera Bread restaurant already is open. Longhorn Steaks will open in a couple of weeks, Tanger said and an Olive Garden, the area’s first, should open before Labor Day.

A fourth restaurant space is vacant.

Tanger said the center expects to get 2 million visits per year, which is not the same as 2 million visitors, because some people come more than once.

Newton said the mall was largely constructed with recycled building materials obtained from debris at the site following demolition of the original shopping mall. He said 15,000 tons of construction materials were reused in the new building, including large trees that were dug up, stored and brought back when construction was done.